thoughts on dexter: are you…?

“It’s simple human nature to keep little secrets about ourselves. We all do it: ‘I dye my hair’,’ I watch Internet pornography’. But what if your whole life is a secret? A lie? And exposing the truth could expose everything you are? What do you do? Run?”

Why did Deb believe Dexter so easily?
Dexter’s easy explanation after Deb catches him in his ritualistic act of killing Travis? “I wanted him dead, so I killed him.” He tosses in the effects of Rita’s death for good measure, as if to say “Deb, I’ve dealt with a lot of shit, so it’s perfectly understandable that I snapped this one and only time.” Maybe it was this or Dexter’s assertion that although he was suffering from temporary insanity he would still be locked up and lose Harrison, but Deb immediately went along with the plan to make it look like a suicide. Travis’ final tableau would include setting the church on fire and stabbing himself, all as a reaction to the world not ending.

Fortunately, the observant and skilled Deb I’ve come to both love and loathe the last few years slowly made an appearance throughout the episode. She questions how Dexter was “so perfectly prepared to kill Travis” and notes that Dexter wasn’t wearing his usual work attire when she found him at the church. She thinks about the plastic Dexter used to wrap up Travis and makes the connection to her “tryst” with Brian Moser (aka the Ice Truck Killer and Dexter’s brother). It was then that I realized she didn’t believe Dexter, her first reaction was just to save him. The dots were fully connected for her when she spoke to Jamie and found out that Dexter lies about working late all the time. At some point she ransacks Dexter’s apartment and finds his slides and all the other red flags that he is very much a murderer and Travis was just one of many. Instead of asking for another lie explanation, she simply asks him if he’s a serial killer, which Dexter confirms. Watching young Dexter almost tell young Deb why they had to get rid of Banjo, it was pretty clear he’s always wanted to believe she would understand who he really is, but it was Harry that knocked this idea out of his head (“If she every saw the real you, she’d never get over it”). Maybe she will…Harry’s code and suggestions aren’t completely infallible.

How will Deb deal with her emotions?Finding out that her brother is a serial killer is just one part of this little puzzle. Towards the end of last season, Deb realized she is in love with Dexter. With so much happening, it was easy to forget that she came to the church to tell him that, and not just to check up on his work at the crime scene. We’ve seen Deb handle the hard stuff before and bounce back rather quickly, but this is completely new territory. My theory is that she’ll still tell him how she feels, because Deb just isn’t good at keeping her emotions in check. Dexter could realize he feels the same way, but I’d prefer that he manipulates her to insure she doesn’t continue to have the upper-hand in this situation. Sure, incestuous feelings aren’t on the same level of being a serial killer, but if done just right, Dexter could make Deb feel they’re both equally screwed up, which would make her pause a little before continually threatening to have him arrested or something else equally dramatic. If they write it so Deb keeps all of this to herself, then it was a huge waste including it in last year’s storyline.

Is LaGuerta a danger?Nope. In fact, I’m glad she found the slide and starts to suspect that Doakes wasn’t the real Bay Harbor Butcher. It could mean that, finally, her character will get killed off or at the very least, do something more exciting than act like a bitch to Deb. LaGuerta was at her very best when she figured out that Prado killed her friend, Ellen. It added dimensions to her character and was genuinely enjoyable to watch. Also, if/when she does make even a remote connection to Dexter as the one behind everything, I hope that it’s Deb, Dexter or even Travis that kills her off before she can bring more people in on her theory. None of that accidental death shit.

What is up with Louis?“The more I get to know you, the weirder and weirder you get.” I have to agree with Jamie here, this guy continues to puzzle me with his actions. He cancelled Dexter’s credit card, which could have just been in retaliation to their run-in at the apartment. He knows something, but we have no clue what. He has an obsession with Dexter, but we have no clue why. I mentioned at the end of last season that I agree with the theory he’s Dexter’s nephew, and that hasn’t changed. I’m going to give it another episode before I get restless and start demanding answers on why this kid is still around and what the hell he wants.

What do George, Isaac and the dead stripper have to do with anything?Georgieis obviously the little boss to Isaac‘s big boss in this whole operation. They put themselves on everyone’s radar when Viktor killed Mike, but aside from running a strip club as a front for moving drugs, it’s not really clear why they’ve been relegated as Dexter‘s newest villain. Surely, this will be something the very capable Miami PD could handle without Dexter. So was the point to introduce a group so easily foiled that it leaves room for the Dexter/Deb, Dexter/Louis, LaGuerta dynamics? My general annoyance with the Ukranian mob as this season’s antagonist directly stems from the second season of The Wire when they introduced The Greeks, which tainted a near perfect record of a nearly perfect show. Fortunately, Travis already marred Dexter‘s record, so this could be a pleasant surprise of a storyline.